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Vagabond by Inoue Takehiko

Striving for enlightenment by way of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi is prepared to cut down anyone who stands in his way. Vagabond is an action-packed portrayal of the life and times of the quintessential warrior-philosopher—one of the most celebrated samurai of all time!

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

Oh my, I'm glad you've decided to discuss this manga. I think Vagabond is one of my my favorite mangas period. I've never seen artwork that seems so raw and expressive. The sheer amount of detail in every panel and creative use of light and perspective are so fun to see. The watercolors are also a treat, since they show off Takehiko-san's style and skill. It's sooo good. I feel like this is the kind of work that can transcend the genre of "manga" or "comic" and really appeal to all sorts of audiences... or maybe not.

I'm a big fan of the mangaka, Takehiko Inoue... even if he kinda borrowed some pictures for his "Slam Dunk." I hope he can stay healthy and happy enough to keep up the amazing work.

I'm not on my computer right now, so I can't look up my favorite scenes.. but I'll be back with that later. I'm glad to see another fan of this wonderful manga. (as a side question, what are the other samurai mangas you had in mind? what are your other favorite mangas? and do you think there are any similar mangas out there?)

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

Bull's eye! Yeah... I think that the drawing style gives the whole story a great support. Both story and drawing go so well together.

I've got a vagabond poster in my room because it looks so kickass!

Quote:

I'm a big fan of the mangaka, Takehiko Inoue... even if he kinda borrowed some pictures for his "Slam Dunk." I hope he can stay healthy and happy enough to keep up the amazing work.

SlamDunk is also one of my favs although it's an entirely different genre...

Quote:

(as a side question, what are the other samurai mangas you had in mind? what are your other favorite mangas? and do you think there are any similar mangas out there?)

I only know Blade of the Immortal, Basilisk, Samurai Champloo and Rurouni Kenshin = samurai mangas
But they are all different in kind and style than Vagabond.
The most similar might be Blade of the Immortal but still it has more fantasy/mystery included like the main character's ability to have swords coming out of his body as well as being cursed to be immortal because of some worms living inside him.
Vagabond is more realistic in this way.
For Basilisk you can get more info here.
And Samurai Champloo as well as Rurouni Kenshin are by far not so serious and intense as Vagabond. (RK has also its own thread here.)
Well, you see: Vagabond is my fav samurai manga so this is not objective, of course.

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

Yeah, I've seen or read most of those other samurai manga and they are way different... good though.

I agree that BoTI is the most similar to Vagabond, but the art style in Vagabond is very much superior. It's much more polished.

(oh wow, Miso.. you're azzzrael? that's awesome. I'm definitely a fan and have looked at your deviations before. Coolness.) Thanks for your recommendations. Where do you dl your manga? I usually use IRC, but my school recently shut it down. Any recommendations?

The two battles between Musashi and Inshun were amazing. The second battle was interesting because you started to appreciate the mentality of a warrior as depicted by Takehiko. It's almost become cliche... but the idea that you can learn about your opponent through battle is very well represented.

There's a chapter in volume 12 that shows Musashi climbing a mountain with his bare hands. That was beautiful.

One of my favorites so far are the fights in volumes 19 and 20. Kojiro's battle with Koun and the other guys... spectacular.

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

One of my favourite mangas. I love it. Mostly because of the change of two different Characters the wild beast Miyamoto Musashi and the cold hearted killer Sasaki Kojiro. Also i recommend you the book Musashi of Eiji Yoshikawa. It is also about Musashi and it is really recommendable.

Im Himmel keinen zweiten.My english is really bad.Building the Future and keeping the Past alive is one and the same thing. Solid Snakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

Originally Posted by MQAvatar2k

(oh wow, Miso.. you're azzzrael? that's awesome. I'm definitely a fan and have looked at your deviations before. Coolness.) Thanks for your recommendations. Where do you dl your manga? I usually use IRC, but my school recently shut it down. Any recommendations?

Yeah. I'm AzzzRAEL. Such a stupid nickname. I don't know why I choose that...
I also use irc because #lurk has the most series scanlated out there plus fine download speeds.
Rare things you still can find with fserv.
If you go for direct download try: www.mangatraders.com

Originally Posted by Snake1786

One of my favourite mangas. I love it. Mostly because of the change of two different Characters the wild beast Miyamoto Musashi and the cold hearted killer Sasaki Kojiro. Also i recommend you the book Musashi of Eiji Yoshikawa. It is also about Musashi and it is really recommendable.

Yes - that contrast is quite appealing.
And I acutally have that book written by Yoshikawa in my book shelve. It's really good and totally interesting. I think Miyamoto Musashi is a great character for a story.

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

I read the first volume of Vagabond. Not bad, but I don't get the same sense of wonder I did from Blade of the Immortal. But I'll read on. It's nice to have a realistic samurai story anyway and I love it when the story is built around some real history, too.

I'll probably never forget what the Battle of Sekigahara was all about now at least - I already knew a little bit about the Tokugawa reign but this is the first time I've been able to fully understand how it got started.

Shinmen Takezō has a definite presence about him all right, I like how the artist gave him beastial eyes that gave his opponents pause almost all the time. For a man destined to become a legendary swordsmaster, he does seem like he'd be intimidating enough. Wonder how Miyamoto Musashi really looked like, though. Anyway, Takezō certainly does seem resourceful... heh, if the Toyotomi clan had five more men like him, the West probably would have won that battle...

Didn't care for Hon'iden Matahachi at all and I wasn't too surprised when he turned out to be pretty much a lame excuse for a warrior and ran away with Okō.

Will comment more as I read on. The art's very well done but it almost seems like the artist is trying to stretch the story out by having so many large panels that just show the characters' emotion (especially Takezō.)

* * * * *

EDIT: Okay, I just finished the fourth volume and it's gotten much better. The first two volumes were kind of "eh" but when Takezō was renamed Miyamoto Musashi was when the story really got rolling.

First off, the character development of Musashi in this manga is pretty incredible. He was sort of a blank slate in the first two volumes, but then in the next two... you can definitely feel him changing due to the answers he's getting from people about his life, his mission, and human nature. First Takuan, then trial and error with the skilled swordsmen he's meeting at Yoshioka, then that old monk he met on the Hōzōin temple grounds... and already he has a young discipline, Jōtarō.

So all in all, I've been impressed with the writing in the last two volumes and that's what is keeping me reading. I like that Musashi's becoming more human as the story goes by ( I did sort of expect it to happen eventually, but it happened quicker than I thought. The writing was sort of slow in the first two volumes. )

Takuan Sōhō is definitely a cool character. I've always kind of wanted to see a story with a monk who actually has a strong personality, and he fits the bill... the way he captured and hung up Takezō and sort of changed his path from a cold killer seeking death to a swordsman on a mission who's at least not as reckless with his own life and the lives of others was genius. And I really liked that scene where Takuan"scared off" Tsujikaze Kōhei with the strength of his mind. Well, I could go on... Takuan turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

I'm getting used to Matahachi as a sort of comedy relief character, along with his mother and family. It was amusing how he turned out to be the one who burned down the Yoshioka dojo.

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

I've read it several times, and kinda have to admit I wasn't so thrilled about the last few volumes where we got introduced to somone I'd call the second main character ?? since so many volumes focused on him...

Anyway I haven't grown as fond of Blade of the immortal as I have of Vagabond, and I guess it's mainly because the main character is way better. Also I had kinda expected the main character in BoTI to be better, but he seems to have gotten duller with skills and stuff.

Re: Vagabond Discussion Thread

As for Musashi vs. Manji, it seems Musashi would probably win based on pure skill and instinct. But I still think Manji is a fun character to follow in Blade of the Immortal, but it's obvious his character isn't as well developed as Musashi's. Rin on the other hand...

Volume 7 was hilarious when Musashi was training to try to beat Inshun. When that log hit his head while he was standing in the waterfall, that was pure comedy.

I was a bit disappointed in the rematch though, it wasn't as exciting as the first fight between Inshun and Musashi. Most of the time they just stood there! I can understand the battle of wills, but I expected something a little more than that, I guess. Still, it's nice to see Inshun and Misashi part on good terms.

My interest in the manga hasn't fallen at all, it's still pretty cool watching how Musashi learns more about swordfighting and himself throughout this series.

Matahachi - man, he's the perfect example of what I would consider a "phoney." It's disgusting how he's hiding behind another man's name and reputation - I feel sorry for Sasaki Kojirō.